Quick Facts

  • Release Date: February 5, 2017
  • Page Count: 246
  • Publisher: Iron Twine Press
  • Kindle Unlimited? Yes

This book was slow to start, but I was eventually intrigued and felt the references to long-standing archeological theories were engaging. The book was also well edited.

Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon

Synopsis

Strong Heart, by Charlie Sheldon, begins the night before Tom Olsen is set to hike into Washington State's Olympic National Park to visit his grandfather's grave.  As he prepares for the trip along with his Native American friend William, and William's daughter Myra, his ex-wife unexpectedly drops off Sarah, their thirteen-year-old granddaughter.

This was quite the shock, as Tom had not known that he had a granddaughter.  After conferring with William and Myra, they make the collective decision to take Sarah along rather than cancel their trip.

In an attempt to connect with his ornery and temperamental granddaughter, Tom shows Sarah a spear-thrower his grandfather had given him before passing away 45 years earlier.  Tom had intended to leave this ancient artifact at his grandfather's grave, but before he gets the chance, Sarah storms off during an argument, takes the spear-thrower, and gets lost in the woods leaving no trace of her whereabouts.  Eight days later, she unexpectedly returns to the campsite, bloodied, starving, and missing half a finger.  She begins to recall her inexplicable visions of prehistoric human migration originating from Kamchatka, Russia, crossing the Bearing Sea, and ending at the Olympic peninsula.  The four then work to identify the significance of Sarah's visions, calling into question the very foundations of modern archeological and anthropological theories.

Review

Strong Heart is a fictional novel set in Olympic National Park, a place in which the author, Charlie Sheldon, has a clear familiarity.  Undeniably well researched, I enjoyed Sheldon's realistic and logical alternative to the origins of modern man.  Told using classic Native American storytelling techniques, Sarah's visions depict what life may have been like during this great migration.

There were several things I disliked about the book, starting with the pace at which the primary plot is introduced.  While I appreciated the character's introductions and general exposition, I felt it took until approximately halfway through to truly grasp where the story was heading.  The limited content in the first half dampened my desire to continue reading.

I was also disappointed by the book's resolution.  There is a secondary plotline involving Buckhorn International, a large corporation looking to purchase a shipping pier that is currently owned by local Native American tribes.  The pier is critical to the tribe's operation, but Buckhorn lobbies the community to purchase the pier for their intended mining operations within Olympic National Park.  Although Buckhorn is not presented as the primary conflict at the beginning of the book, readers eventually come to understand the importance of the spear-thrower as it relates to Buckhorn's mining operations.  Despite this, there is no resolution by the end of the book and I was left feeling confused and disappointed.

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Summary

Despite initially being torn between a 2-star and a 3-star rating, I feel 3 out of 5 stars is appropriate; I was eventually intrigued by Sarah's visions and felt Sheldon appropriately connected them to long-standing archeological theories. Once these theories were revealed,  I was fully engaged. Additionally, this book is well edited. Had the plot been revealed earlier and a final resolution been provided to conclude the central thematic conflict, I feel 4 stars would have been appropriate.

Strong Heart, the first book in the Strong Heart Series by Charlie Sheldon, can be read as a stand-alone novel.  While there is some border-line profanity, the book does not contain overtly offensive language or sexual content.  Therefore, it is suitable for a young adult to an adult audience.

Link to Author's website: https://charliesheldon2.com/